


i can't behave when i'm with you

by Regrets9000



Category: Gone Home
Genre: F/F, Gentle Kissing, Katie is having a rough time, Plans For The Future, Regretful Kaitlin Greenbriar, Sam is having the time of her life, Tenderness, deep talks while looking at the sky, missing your loved ones, old empty house exploration, the inherent eroticism of being silly with your gf in a waffle house at 3 am
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-11
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:23:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22206682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Regrets9000/pseuds/Regrets9000
Summary: Katie comes back to a house full of ghosts, and she mourns the pieces of Sam's life that she missed out on, and the life that she fled from in the first place.Sam is feeling giddy and daring in the face of all this new freedom, but Lonnie will still need some comfort.A story of dealing with the aftermath.
Relationships: Kaitlin Greenbriar & Janice Greenbriar, Kaitlin Greenbriar & Samantha Greenbriar, Yolanda "Lonnie" DeSoto/Samantha Greenbriar
Comments: 5
Kudos: 12





	i can't behave when i'm with you

**Author's Note:**

> This has been sitting in my drafts folder for a while now, but it's as polished as it will ever get, so I'm releasing it into the wild!
> 
> Hope somebody enjoys it, this was mostly self indulgent to see where these characters would go after the game ends.
> 
> Title from I Can't Behave by Caravan of Thieves. Also listen to Josephine by Teitur for the nostalgic vibes I wrote this to.

Katie had come back to an empty house that was haunted. And she didn't mean by their spectral great Uncle Oscar, even as much as Sam and Lonnie seemed to believe it. No, the Arbor Hill House was haunted by the ghosts of a family. Each person left traces of a life behind, and the house was so full up with grievances and marital issues and discontent that it didn't feel like there could be any room left for anything else. She had gone through the house in search of answers and found so much more. It had felt at times intensely voyeuristic and uncomfortable to see so much of her family's secrets, and yet she had been so curious, she couldn't make herself stop. There was so much to unpack here, so much baggage she hadn't even been aware of.

And... plenty she had known, if she was being completely honest with herself. Katie had felt all of this pressure building in the house day by day and it had scared her to see Mom and Dad's tense silences, to hear the awful jokes Dad had told about her, so she left. Left Sam behind to deal with it all on her own. The thought prickled, and Katie's heart hurt to listen to those first messages from Sam. Sam had been thrust into a new school, with kids who disliked her on principal for something over which she had no power. And yet, Sam had survived. She had carved out her own spaces in the house and everywhere she went it echoed with love. Little stickers, letters she wrote to Katie, her favorite cassettes, reminders of her and Lonnie littered the house. It was abundantly clear that Lonnie had brightened Sam's world, and then Sam had shined that light into this old forboding house. Katie didn't know how their parents couldn't see it.

Mostly Katie wished she had been here. Maybe she could have covered for Sam, made it all a little easier on her. She could have been the shield between Sam and their parents' cruelty. She should have been here for Sam in this crucial time. But at the same time Katie felt so proud of Sam for facing this so bravely. She knew it couldn't have been easy, and Katie only got the pieces of the story Sam wrote about, who knew how much more had happened. Katie still wasn't sure entirely how she felt about Sam running away. She had sat in the attic, numb, for a long time after reading Sam's book. Katie hoped Sam and Lonnie were safe, and that they would find a way to get in contact soon.

Speaking of contact, Katie realized that she would need to talk to Mom and Dad about all of this eventually. She went back through the ridiculously big (and scarily silent now that the storm had calmed down) house to find the pamphlet for her parents' "camping trip". At least maybe this would mean less awkward meals between the two of them. With the phone number found, Katie called the head office of the couple's bonding trip her parents were on. It rang once, then twice before a woman's voice picked up.

"Everglade Couple's Bonding Retreat, my name is Cindy, how may I help you?" The woman, Cindy, sounded exceedingly bored.

"Uh, hi. Can you take a message?"

A long sigh echoed across the line. "Sure."

"Thanks." Katie said in a tone that made the word sound more like a swear. "It's for a Terrence and Janice Greenbriar, my parents." A low _uh huh_ from the woman.

"Tell them it's from Katie, and that I'm home early. And..." Katie stopped, unsure how to continue. She needed them to come home sooner rather than later, but there was no way in hell she was telling this lady what had happened.

"That it's a family emergency and they need to come home immediately." Katie knew that her parents would worry themselves sick all the way home with how vague she had been. She supposed she should feel guilty, but they were the ones who had driven Sam away. They were the ones who made Sam feel as if she wasn't welcome in their home. Let them worry. They deserved it.

Cindy signed off with a monotone "Have a lovely day." Katie slumped into a chair with a huff and massaged her brow. The short exchange had left her feeling very drained. It was just that kind of day.

There wasn't anything else left to do but wait, so she set about cleaning up the guest room. There were plenty of boxes to organize and shove out of the way, plenty of dust to sweep up, plenty of mindless tasks to pass the time and keep her from thinking too hard. Then she began unpacking her things. At the sight of the carefully wrapped gifts gathered from all across Europe, each neatly labeled _Sam_ in sharpie on their brown paper, Katie broke down.

There were ridiculous tiny gift shop figurines of famous monuments, relics gathered from old shops hidden down cobblestoned back streets, a handful of seedpods she couldn't identify but knew Sam would love. So many small breakable objects meant to convey so much. Katie had imagined sitting on her bed in the old house with Sam and slowly revealing each item to her, spinning out the stories and memories of each of the fabulous places she had visited. She had imagined Sam telling her all that she had missed out on while she was away. She had imagined a lot of things.

But Sam wasn't here. Katie sat all alone on a dusty mattress in an empty house that didn't feel like home surrounded by trinkets that suddenly seemed like so much plastic and wood, worthless little things. Her stories seemed to evaporate in her mouth when she realized she had no idea when she might ever get the chance to tell Sam about them. Katie sat there and sobbed, for what felt like hours.

Finally, wrung out and exhausted, Katie fell back onto the bed and was asleep in seconds.

\-----

Sam was having the time of her life. She and Lonnie had caught a bus out into the city, and had left anything that could be used to track them down. Sam had taken her birthday money and Lonnie had her small amount of savings. They had told no one where they were going except for Lonnie's friend they were staying with for the time being. Lonnie and her had crashed into a late night restaurant that served breakfast at all hours and laughed over pancakes and coffee until the restaurant closed, and then they had walked to the park and traded jokes. They had sang their favorite songs as loud as they could, and Sam could do nothing but grin at hearing Lonnie belt out a song about rebelling against your parents. The passion in her voice, the way her eyes screwed up so she could throw herself into the music, and with the street light reflecting off the fading red in her hair. She really was so beautiful.

Sam was giddy. She had been living under the shroud of fear of the consequences if her parents found out about her and Lonnie for so long, and then they had found out and it had been awful. But now she was free! She was out and Lonnie was by her side, Lonnie's hand was warm in hers. Lonnie had once again been the brave one and had gotten off the bus to Basic, had asked Sam to run away with her. And Sam, of course, had said yes.

So here they are, laying in the grass in the park, staring up at the brilliant stars. Everything felt so vivid, and Sam thinks she might remember this night forever. She can hear Lonnie's soft breathing beside her.

"Sam... Are you scared?" Lonnie's voice is quiet. Sam turns to look at her. Lonnie's brow is furrowed and she is still staring at the sky, stubbornly refusing to meet Sam's eyes.

"Not really? At least, I don't think so." Sam pauses. "Are you?" Silence. Then Lonnie sighs.

"Yeah, I guess I am. I just mean, where do we go from here? There's not exactly an easy way for two teenagers to support themselves without any help, and you're not even old enough to work yet." Sam thinks about this. She didn't know Lonnie was worried about this, but she supposes it only makes sense.

"Well, I don't think it'll be easy, but I think we can do it together. And I can always just lie and say I'm 18, I practically am anyway." Sam says. "I know this is scary and new, but you're not alone in this. Neither of us are anymore." Sam squeezes Lonnie's hand. Lonnie rolls over to look at Sam and now Sam can see the soft grin that suffuses Lonnie's face.

"Yeah, I suppose that's true." Lonnie says. She looks a little more settled, but there is still worry in the lines of her face. Sam wants to help reassure her, but she isn't quite sure how.

"Babe, we're gonna get through this. We'll be okay. And yeah it's scary, but it's also wonderful and freeing and we're gonna make the most of it. Hasn't this night been beautiful?" Sam reaches out and strokes Lonnie's cheek. Lonnie huffs a tiny laugh.

"You're ridiculous."

"Am I wrong?"

"No. It has been amazing." Lonnie admits. Lonnie smiles at her and it feels like a chance and a promise. Sam leans in slowly and kisses that smile. It's familiar and comforting now how well they fit together. Still thrilling, but without any of their previous urgency. Slow and perfect now that they don't have to worry about being caught.

When they part again Sam offers Lonnie a hand up.

"Come on, let's go back to the apartment." Sam says, and it's simple. But what she really means is _let's go home_. What she means is _let's take this step into our new future and life together_. What she means is _anywhere you are is home to me_.

**Author's Note:**

> Perhaps I will write another chapter to fix this up and hopefully resolve this so that Katie is less sad, maybe a reunion between Sam and Katie.
> 
> If that sounds interesting at all to you let me know :)


End file.
